INTERVIEW
“ I USE THE TERM ‘ ROLLING A
POO IN GLITTER ’ TO DESCRIBE TALKING ABOUT TABOO TOPICS , USING COMEDY AS A FORM OF
COMMUNICATION TO EDUCATE .”
What would you say are your biggest barriers for being a feminist cartoonist ?
Currently , I ’ d say it ’ s been hate speech and threats . It ’ s been a gradual build-up to the hate speech . As you would expect , the more followers you gain , the more hate you gain too . That ’ s always the way with whatever you do . But I think in some ways I ’ m more subjected to it . I remember once , I posted about feminism , and it got shared to a men ’ s rights subreddit . From there , they found my account and the threats I got became serious really quickly .
Image : Lily O ’ Farrell
Because of that , I felt like I had to change what I was saying online and , in my cartoons , in order to avoid things like that happening . It ’ s such a hard thing to deal with because I feel like I , as a woman , am having to silence my voice just to protect myself , and that ’ s not right .
Has there ever been a specific time that you feel like you ’ ve not had your voice heard ?
I feel like my voice is heard online , especially because I have such an amazing community of people who want to hear what I ’ m saying . But , when I talk offline , I find it really difficult . For example , if I say the F word or the P word , which is feminism or patriarchy , people instantly shut off and don ’ t want to hear it .
That ’ s why Instagram is my safe haven when it comes to my work , because when I try and translate my cartoons into offline social situations , I have to sugarcoat my opinions just to get someone to listen to me . The words I use have such a stigma attached to them , but I don ’ t think we should find some alternative for the word feminism , because it ’ s about women ’ s rights and we shouldn ’ t have to keep adapting to what others don ’ t like .
I do find that a lot of the time , people make remarks or don ’ t want to listen to what I have to say when I do my stand-up comedy about feminism . One time , I had a 10-minute set where I spoke about feminism and the death threats I ’ d received , obviously , in a
Comic strip presenting the differences in expectations between men and women
funny way . But this older male comedian got on stage after me and kept referring to me as ‘ woke ’. The point I was getting across in my set was that I don ’ t want to be killed and that women shouldn ’ t be murdered . I find it funny that a man would consider me as woke [ alert to injustice in society ] because of that .
I guess you could say my voice comes and goes , but it doesn ’ t bother me as much anymore . As I said , I have an amazing community online amongst my followers and I know they listen and they relate . At the end of the day , I use my voice to share my opinions and I will never stop doing that . It ’ s up to everyone else whether they want to hear them .
Interview by Holly Harris
You can find Lily O ’ Farrell ’ s work on Instagram : @ vulgadrawings
ISSUE 5 SLEUTH 23